The Quiet Kind Of Beauty -Marauder Era

Chapter 11

Sirius walked up the boys staircases' with a giddy smile on his face, his insides light as air. Running a badly scarred hand through his knotted hair, he turned the brass doorknob and entered his dorm. Snores of two teenagers rocketed off the walls, and for a moment Sirius mistook it as a wand fight. Then the tiring events rolled back into his brain. He expected James and Remus to be the ones snoring, but it wasn't; it was Remus and Peter. For Remus, it was understandable; he went through a lot this night; or Peter, it was definitely not understandable. The little runt wasn't even in the Shrieking Shack! Only James was awake; he was putting his glasses on groggily.

"I was just about to check the map," He said, laying back down. "You've been gone for ages."

"Has it really been that long?" Sirius questioned absentmindedly as he practically skipped towards his bed.

James snorted. "What did Clara do to you?"

"She gave me a kiss." Sirius sighed contently. James nearly fell off his bed.

"She kissed you?!" He whisper-yelled.

"It was a kiss on the cheek, but it was the best kiss on the cheek," Sirius explained happily.

"You're an idiot," James sighed, shaking his head. "Obsessing over a kiss on the cheek."

"You almost fainted when Lily agreed to be your girlfriend!" Sirius shot back, belly flopping onto his bed.

"Yeah well..." James struggled for a good comeback and then groaned, "Well played, Padfoot, well played."

With a roll of his eyes, Sirius kicked off his dirty shoes, peeling his socks off with them. It was nearly four thirty in the morning, and his body was exhausted. Every fibre screamed sleep at him, yet, oddly, he wasn't ready to go to sleep just yet. His thoughts were, as usual, on a short, blue-eyed girl. It was strange, he had to admit to himself that out of all the girls that he had dated, Clara struck him as the most intriguing. Sirius liked the fact that her face never was covered up by makeup, unlike nearly every other girl at Hogwarts.

Sirius suddenly groaned. "Why is she so damn perfect? She's ruining my life,"

"I thought she was making it better?" James muttered.

"She is, but at the same time she's ruining it. In the good way, of course,"

"You're messed." James decided with a snort. "Now, shut up and let me sleep."

~*~

It was weird; Clara and Sirius had the best time ever, but she still couldn't get at least an hour of shut eye. By the time morning came around, she had gotten a total of half an hour of sleep. It was a surprise to her classmates when she stumbled into Professor McGonagall's classroom fifteen minutes late.

"Ms. Campbell, nice of you to show up," the Transfiguration professor said, crossing her arms.

"Forgive me, professor," Clara apologized right away. A group Ravenclaw of boys at the back of the classroom sniggered at Clara's light red cheeks, and she out of habit raised her chin higher, showing that they didn't bother her. "I accidentally slept in."

"I can see that," McGonagall said disapprovingly, "An hour of detention, Ms. Campbell. See me after class to discuss your punishment." Clara nodded mutely, sliding into her seat, her eyes on the ground, beside Marlene McKinnon. For the rest of class, she took notes intently, writing down every word that McGonagall said.